I think this is most fascinating! There is no established link between Great Spotted Cuckoo and Crested Barbet as far as brood parasitism is concerned but, unlike the specialist brood parasites (Indigobirds, Whydahs etc.) these Cuckoos do parasitise whichever species they deem fit at the time.

So it is not entirely inconceivable that this Greater Spotted Cuckoo have been raised by a Crested Barbet but confirmation of that would have been of tremendous interest. You didn't by any chance notice the Cuckoo giving begging calls? If you had hung around a bit longer you might even have witnessed the Barbet feeding the Cuckoo, a picture that would have been very valuable!

While it has been established that GS Cuckoo parasitises all of the glossy starlings present in Kruger, their primary hosts are actually crows, most frequently Pied Crow but also Cape Crow and insufficient data suggests even White-necked Raven.

For this reason I've always had some form of reverence for the Great Spotted Cuckoo. No other brood parasite uses a host that is actually bigger than itself so while many people consider brood parasitism "cowardly" I think these guys have balls.

"Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from the animals ... except the weasel." -Homer Simpson

Thanks, you make it sound even more interesting. I took a few pics but will have to work thru it to see what I got.

We only made the connotation between the 2 birds the moment the cuckoo made what I can only describe as begging wing flapping movements. It did call as well and even thou I am not very familiar with the GS Cuckoo call, it was a juvenile bird call... a begging call perhaps?

The barbet flew off a whee while later and we had to rush a bit to get to the camp in time before gate closing time as we had 16kms to go in the last hour.

My SO seemed to have taken a picture of the cuckoo flapping the wings. I am waiting for the email to come thru.